Display-cabinet for eye-testing cards.



W. L. WALL. L DISPLAY CABINET POB. EYE TESTING CARDS.

1,072,799. vPatented sept. 9, v1913.

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W. L. WALL.

DISPLAY CABINET POR EYE TESTING GBDS.

APPLICATION FILED DEO. 17. 1907.

Patented Sept. 9, l191B.

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SATES ATNl oren.

WILLIAM L. WALL, or PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

, DISPLAY-CABINET FOR EYE-TESTING CARDS.

i Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented sept. 9,1913.

Application filed December 17, 1907., Serial No. 406,949.

able others skilled inthe art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relatesto improvements in display cabinets for eye testing cards.

Cabinets for displaying cards by oculists and Opticians, when examining for defects.

in vision, have been in use. Iny the main, however, these cabinets .are cumbersome, difficult to operate, andeasilyr impaired; consequently.` while employed to some extent, these display cabinets fail to give that degree of satisfaction desired, and in many instances oculists and Opticians 'refuse to use these cabinets byreason of their many objectionable features.

The present invention, therefore, has fo-r its object the provision of a display cabinet which is exceedingly simple in construction, easy of operation, and one in which liability of impairment is reduced to a minimum, the invention affording a display cabinet that can he readily positioned for use, one wherein access can be easily had to the various cards to be exhibited thereby, and one in which all of the cards areconcealed from view excepting the One employed for the immediate test being made.

The invention also aims to provide in a display cabinet of the character mentioned simple and efficient means for counterbalancing the respective cards, thus enabling the same to be withdrawn from the cabinet with ease and facility, and permitting their replacing in the cabinet without interference with the other cards orl disturbing the ynested relation thereof.

mechanism of thecabinetfmay be quicklyl exposed to permit convenient access to such mechanism .for purposes of repairs or adjustment. Y

With these general objectsin View, and

others that will appearkas the nature of the improvements is better understood, the invention consists substantially in the novel construction, combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, and pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings, Figure l isa perspective view ofY a display cabinet constructed in accordance with the present invention, the cabinet being in` open position. Fig. 2 is a front elevation thereof, one of the cards being partially withdrawn therefrom. Fig. 3 is a sectional plan view on the line 3-3, Fig. 2.. Fig. 4 is an inverted sectional plan view on the line 4 4, Fig. 2..

Referring in detail to the drawings, the numeral l designates the casing of the hereindescribed cabinet. The front 2, sides 3, and top 4 of this casing Vare entirely closed, whereby said frontA and sides vpresent and unbroken surface, and thus serve to effectually conceal the cards within the casing, but it will be observed that the rear of the casing is open to permit ready access tothe interior thereof for a purpose to be presently stated. One of the-sides, however, is hingedly connected, as at 5, to one edge of a back 6, said back being in the form of a rectangular frame to the upper edge of which is connected a forwardly projecting cap piece 7. This cap piece overhangs the top 4 of the casing, and presents a finishedan-d ornamentaleifect to-saidltop when the cabinet is in closed position. In order that the casing may be held in closed relation to the back 6 an eye 8 isv fixed to vthe back to be engaged by a latch 9 carried Vforwardly projecting dowels 11 that enter sockets 12 formed in the rear'edge of the side 3 to which the latch Q'is applied, and

assisted in sustaining the weightof the caslng.

Within the casing 1, and spaced fromthe sides 3 thereof, are arranged ya :pair of guides .14. Each of these guides is provided at its inner face with a longit-udinally-extending groove 15, which grooves are closed .at their upper ends, and thereby provide limiting stops 15 to check the upward movement of the test cards hereinafter referred to, said guides 14 being connected to the front 2 of the casing in any suitable manner in order to be sustained therein. By spacing the guides 14 from the sides 3, as described, verticallyf extending channels or passageways 16 are provided at the edge portions of the casing 1. The purpose of these channels or passage-` ways will presently appear.V Also positioned within the casing 1, and arranged in nested relation in the grooves 15 of the guides` 14, is a plurality of testk cards 17. These cards bear upon their faces the usual symbols'arranged in diHerent sizes for purposes of testing defects in vision, and by reason of their nested relation, and the fact that they are arranged in the vguides 14, the cards 17 are movable independently of each other into a-nd out of the casing without interference with each other. Thus, when it is desired to dis-V play any of the cards 17, the part-icularone by which the immediate test is to be made is drawn downwardly through the open lower end of the vcasing 1, a linger tab 18, or its equivalent,being applied to each of the cards 17 to enable the latter being readily grasped, and thus by exposing the respective cards the symbols or characters borne therebyr may be readily viewed from the front of the casing, the exposure of the particular symbols and characters being regulated by the extent to which the card 'is drawn from vthe cabinet. The finger tabs 18 may be suitably numbered in order to facilitate the exposure of the respective cards.

1t is obviously necessary that some means must Abe provided for 'holding the cards 17 within the casing 1, and by which they may be readily moved therein, and to this end each ofthe cards 17 has connected to its upper portion one end of a cord 19, or other flexible connection, the other ends of the cords having connected thereto counterbalances 20. These counterbalances 20 are in the form of weights, but it is manifest that Vany construction of counterbalance may be substituted for the weights 20. It will thus be seen that through the medium of the counterbalances 20 the cards 17 are held suspended within 'the casing 1, and movement of the cards may be eected with a minimum expenditure of force 'by .reason of the fact that they are counterbalanced as indicated. 1t is to Ibe observed, however, that the counterbalances are pointed at both ends to allow l one ro-w vbeing' opposite the -spaces between the guides of 'the-opposing row, and through -theseguides-Q)l the flexible connections 19 ar passed.

By arranging the guides 22 in the manner indicated, or in Ya staggered relation, it will be seen that each of the guides will be substantially in vertical alinement lwith the particular -card 17 to which thel flexible connection 19 that passes through lthat guide is connected. rLllhus the flexible connections 19 are connected to the respective cards in a man@ ner to prevent entanglement of the conneotions with each other, -or interference thereby during the movement of the respective cards.

Al series of-similar guides 23 is also arranged atthe under side of the top 4, but said guides are located immediately above the upper ends o-f theeha-nnels or passages 16, said guides 23 being spaced from each other, and one of the same is arranged opposite to'each of the guides 22, thus distributing the cords 19 so that the latter lie in yparallel relation along the top 4, such arrangement of the cords 19 and the guides 28 in relation to the guides 22 effecting proper separation of the counter'balances 20. The count-erbalances, therefore, yhave each a separate path of movement in relation to the others, and are perfectly free from .interference in the movementof the respective cards.

ln order to suspend the cabinet from a lwall or other support, the back 6 is provided with suitable openings 24 for receiving screws, or their equivalent, but it is appar` ent that the cabinet may be suspended or heldin position by yanyother suitable fastening means.

VIn the use of -the hereindescribed lcabinet the same is suspended at a suitable point, and when it is desired to test the vision of a patient .the cards 17 are drawn downwardly vfrom the casing 1, thereby exposing to view, at the front of the casing, the .particular characters borne by the respeetive'cards. It is clear that as each card is lowered the force incident thereto will cause the counterbalance 2O connected to that ,particular card to move in a vertical direction in the channel or passage 16 wherein that counterbalance is located, and when it is desired to replace the particular card it is but necessaryV to apply suflicient pressure thereto to move the same upwardly into the casing. `The counterbal- Cil ance 20, manifestly, assists this operation, and thus it is possible to move the several cards with but a minimum expenditure of energy.

By arranging the cards in the nested relation described all of the same are concealed from view, and it will also be evident that the movementof the card that is beingexposed may be regulated in order to disclose at the front of the casing only particular portions thereof, thus enabling the oculist or optician to bring to view any particular line or lines of characters that it is desired to employ as thestandard of test during the` examination that is being made. It is apparent that the upward movement of the cards into the casing will be limited by the closed upper ends of the grooves 15, but such limitation of movement is not effected until the cards are wholly concealed within the cabinet. It is to benoted also that the cards are in close proximity to the back of the cabinet when the latter is closed, thus increasing their distance from. the observer,

r which is a very desirable advantage by reason of the limited size of the oflices of most oculists. The cards being confined in the grooves 15, instead of separate grooves, are concentrated in small space, and the fact that the casing 1 is hingedly connected to the back 6 affords convenient access to the Vinterior mechanism, allowing the interior to be quickly exposed for purposes of repairs or adjustment. Furthermore, the designating characters carried by the tabs 18 allow any desired card to be withdrawn by the operator without disturbing the other cards. There is no limitation concerning the number of cards that may be employed in connection with the cabinet, and such may be increased or decreased in accordance with the needs of the oculist.

Having thus described the invent-ion, what is claimed as new, and desired to be secured by Letters Patent, is:

1. A display cabinet of the character described, comprising' a casing, a series of cards arranged therein and movable independently of each other, a series of counterbalances for said cards, flexible connections between said cards and said counterbalances, a set of guides located in said casing intermediate the sides of the latter to direct the flexible connections to the respective cards, said guides being arr( nged in parallel rows, the guides of one row being opposite the for distributing the counterbalances in relation to'each other, the guides of the last mentioned sets being disposed in different j vertical planes.

k2. Adisplay cabinet of the character described, comprising a casing having its lower end open, a pair of vertically-extending guides arranged withiny said casing, one of said guides being located adjacent to each side edge of theA casing but spaced therefrom to provide a channel, the upper ends of said guides terminating at points removed from the top of the casing, whereby to provide a space between the upper ends of said guides and the top ofthe casing, limiting `stops arranged in the upper ends of said guides and closing the latter, a series of cards located "in grouped relation in' said guides and vertically movable therein and through the open end of the casing for individual display at the exteriorof thecasing, the inward movement of said cards being limited by said stops, counterbalances'arranged in the channels' between said guides and the sides of the casing to be separated from said cards, flexible connections between said cards and said counterbalances, guide eyes arranged in the space between the upper ends of said guides and the top of the casingand providing guiding means for said flexible connections in said space, and a back to which said casing is hingedly connected and providing a support for the latter.

3. A display cabinet of the character described, comprising a casing, a back for said casing to which the latter is hingedly connected, a series of guides arranged in said casing, a series of cards slidably mounted within said guides, counterbalances arranged at the sides of said guides whereby to be separated from said cards, and connections between said counterbalances and said cards,l

ln testimony whereof I affix my signature, in the presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM L. WALL.

Witnesses:

QLHARRY BOWERS, F. A. STREET.

Copies ofthis patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

